Sheffield woman accused of hosting a rave during lockdown has her court case dropped

A woman accused of hosting a rave at her Ecclesall Road home during the coronavirus lockdown has had the case against her dropped just days before she was due in court.

Sunny-Jo Veasey, 28, was accused of hosting more than 30 people at her home in February 2021, the BBC reports.

Restrictions at the time meant that members of the public could only leave home for limited reasons: shopping for essentials, to work (if you could not work from home), or for exercise. People found guilty of breaking these restrictions could be fined £20,000 under the government’s legislation.

Ms Veasey was charged with holding or being involved in a gathering of more than 30 people indoors in a tier four area, She was found guilty of this charge in her absence in March after court documents were sent to her old address.

This verdict was then rescinded after she appealed, claiming she didn’t know the case had happened. The case was adjourned until May, and then further delayed until October, while the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) gathered evidence.

Just two days before she was due to appear in court, the case was withdrawn by the CPS due to a ‘defective charge’.

Video evidence did show 27 people in her home, but Ms Veasey maintains it wasn’t a party.

She admitted she was wrong for inviting people from outside her household and said she would have paid a smaller fine, but felt £10,000 was unfair.

Speaking about her court case, Ms Veasey said: “It seems like a bit of a con. They’re trying to pull money out of people, pushing people through court cases,